I went out to find a nice beer to enjoy tonight, nothing too heavy, just something easy to drink, tasty, and that won’t knock me on my ass.

I figured that if nothing else, I would grab a bottle of Arcadia Ale’s Sky High Rye. Its affordable, delicious, and at 6% abv, isn’t going to be that big a deal. A nice nightcap.

I wasn’t expecting to find something I’ve never seen before. That I haven’t even HEARD OF before.

So imagine my surprise when I see two beers from Saugatuck Brewing Company. A Michigan brewery I’ve never seen? Interesting…

So I picked up a bottle of Saugatuck Singapore IPA. I figure a Michigan IPA is a good thing, and it was only $6.39 for the bomber, so why not?

A pleasant surprise to say the least.

It begins with an aroma right out of the bottle – like you would expect, a nice hop presence in the nose. Some citrus and flowers. Once its in the glass, you even notice some pale malt there.

There’s a little bit of sticky head, leaving a serious lacing on the glass.

Its pretty bitter on the back of your tongue, but well balanced all in all, with some sweetness from the malt lingering up front.

The bottle reads like so:

“Named after the legendary Lake Michigan ghost town, this India Pale Ale is a well balanced blend of bitter & sweet that will not punish your palate.”

And from this Beer Nuts article from eTruth, it sounds like a place worth visiting too.

Not bad. It nice to find a new Michigan beer.

6/10